Akhomkem
A long shadow comes to life in the corner of the room. The air turns cold and crisp. Your breath turns white before your very eyes. As the shadow slides forth, you see that it now takes the shape of a cavernous old man. A man whose skin glistens like dark wax. His deep, glassy eyes shine with malice. You have the sensation of being in the presence of something filled with age and power. And now, its attention is resting upon you. ---- Akhomkem was an important priest in the ancient Basaami Empire. Through skillful and unprecedented use of thaumaturgy, he was able to achieve a form of immortality. The price paid for this immortality was the corruption of his soul, and his spirit terrorized the Basaami Empire for hundreds of years before finally being subdued. Presently, however, Akhomkem has found a way to return, if only in a limited fashion. Background In life, Akhomkem was an ancient version of a Renaissance man. Not only was he pharaoh Ushkamonset's head priest, but he was also an architect, mathematician, physician and statesman. His broad range of skills led him to the first successful construction of a Basaami pyramid, an architectural landmark that was mimicked for hundreds of years. Sadly, mere temporal achievements did not satisfy Akhomkem. He sought eternal life. In those days, thaumaturgy was more common and easier to perform, and Akhomkem had already seen paltry necromantic attempts at immortality. Akhomkem sought a "true immortality" in which both the body and the soul would be preserved after death. After numerous hideous experiments, Akhomkem discovered a way to compel all the parts of his soul to linger in the world after the body had died. He proceeded to test out his new discovery upon himself, claiming that he was unsure of success and would gift his pharaoh with eternal life once he was assured of the process' safety. Upon completing the necessary rituals, Akhomkem's was instantly corrupted. It seemed that he had received what he asked for - eternal life, but at the cost of every shred of his humanity. For hundreds of years, Akhomkem and his minions terrorized the valley of the Basaam. One force only was able to stop his swath of ruin and death - that of the sun-worshiping Pharaoh Khematla. This queen, who was a skilled thaumaturgist and alchemist in her own right, created a pair of alchemical amulets, the Amulets of the Sun and Moon. The Amulet of the Sun prevented Akhomkem from walking about during the day, while the Amulet of the Moon kept him from roaming the night. Through these items, Akhomkem was imprisoned, unable to stalk the lands. Only now, after thousands of years of struggle, has Akhomkem found a way out of his prison. As the power of the amulets has faded, he has discovered that he can manifest during the setting and rising of the sun, those periods of time during which the line between night and day are blurred. Akhomkem Today The scope and breadth of Akhomkem's power is far beyond anyone's understanding. As an immortal, Akhomkem has seen the birth and death of entire cultures. Those who oppose Akhomkem are nothing more than insects to him, faces that will fade within a few decades, lost in the long corridors of time. Akhomekm approaches each conflict with resolute calm, patience and diligence. He weighs his actions in terms of how they will affect the world centuries into the future. He never makes rash decisions, nor is he ever distracted from his end goals. Facing Akhomkem is a daunting task. Heroes who have faced him in the past have often been shocked to find themselves his unwitting pawns, setting into motion a chain of events he had planned even before they were born. The only way heroes have been able to strive against him is to plan long-term objectives and activities counter to his enduring ambitions. Thus, cabals and organizations have existed for generations with no other goal than to carry out their ancestors' plans to oppose Akhomkem and his end schemes. Akhomkem can only exist so long as his image or written name appears in the world. This means that Akhomkem is virtually undefeatable since, as a famous figure in Basaami and Kaspari history, his name appears in countless journals, books and ledgers. Thankfully, legend has it that there exists an alchemical formula for the creation of two more amulets that Khematla was never able to complete: the Amulets of the Sunrise and Sunset. If these two amulets were completed, then Akhomkem would be truly imprisoned, without any means of escaping. Unless, of course, one or more of the amulets were destroyed. Forever accursed, Akhomkem is confined to a prison of his own making. He languishes within the famous Ajefarem Step Pyramid of pharaoh Ushkamonset, near the city of Siul, the first pyramid ever constructed. There he is doomed to remain, until he can find a way to break one of Khematla's mystic seals. Category:Inhabitants Category:Nonhumans Category:Inhabitants of Siul Category:Immortal Beings